Camden’s air quality just got worse than dire

08 November, 2018

‘We have to take our air quality more seriously’

• CAMDEN’s air quality for the past few days has been worse than dire. The reason is that, compounding the fact that diesel-engined taxis trucks buses and cars are choking our streets with nitrogen dioxide, we have the annual ritual of Guy Fawkes.

These days, that festival goes on for days. I walked home from Camden’s cinema on Monday night and the air on our Kentish Town residential streets looked as murky and dangerous as in the opening scene of The Exorcist – and it was certainly more toxic.

When I later checked on the internet, the level of particulate pollution resulting from fireworks and bonfires, the whole of the UK was the worst of any European country. Then, to cap all, some selfish family proceeded with their own firework display after midnight – on a school night!

Every week there’s new scientific research revealing even more damaging effects to the health of our children, and ourselves, be it birth-weight, lung size, asthma, obesity, dementia as well as cancer and cardio-vascular disease. We have to take our air quality more seriously.